NEW PROPOSED CONSULTATION DATES FOR SEVENOAKS ST JOHN’S MASTERPLANS
Published: 18 February 2025
Public Consultation on the draft St John’s Hill Masterplan will take place in March 2025.
The consultation will include a survey (online and paper), consultation boards at key locations, and an information stand at the Annual Town Public Meeting at Bat and Ball Centre, Cramptons Road, from 6.30pm on 17th March 2025.
The key purpose of the Masterplan is to set out a clear vision - informed and endorsed by local people - for what future development should look like within the St John’s ward.
In early 2024, Sevenoaks Town Council commissioned Urban Initiatives to produce two spatial vision documents to explore development and improvement opportunities for the two key neighbourhood centres of Sevenoaks Town Centre and the St John’s area.
Building upon work previously completed in the Sevenoaks Town Neighbourhood Plan, the two Masterplans will identify key opportunities for future development – including design guidance, enhancements to cultural attractions, improvements to the pedestrian environment, any potential traffic mitigation measures and opportunities for greener infrastructure to enhance the biodiversity of the areas.
Consultation on the St Johns Masterplan is now expected to be separate to Public Consultation on the draft Town Centre Masterplan, due to the recent uncertainty of future local government structures caused by the Government’s Reorganisation proposals.
While the Town Council remains committed to publishing both Masterplans as soon as possible, the volume of significant and local assets within the Town – whose future ownership could soon change – makes the future of the Town Centre less predictable.
In delaying the Town Centre Masterplan by a proposed maximum of three months, the Town Council hopes to be in the position to publish a much more informed and up-to-date spatial vision for the Town Centre.
Updates on Consultation events for the St Johns Masterplan, as well as to any predicted timetable for the Town Centre Masterplan will be published both via Planning & Environment Committee Agenda papers, as well as via the Consultations and Key Projects webpage on the Town Council’s website. Once the Public Consultations are completed, the Sevenoaks Town Council Consultants, Urban Initiatives and Urban Movement, will then prepare the final Masterplans, taking into consideration responses received during the consultation.